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Scandal Season 3 Episode 1 Review — Crisis Management 101

De’Andra Roberts

Now that we have all stopped hyperventilating after that roller coaster of a season premiere, let’s discuss the issues that happened in this episode. How were the crises handled?

First, let me say that Olivia’s father was a hot mess in this episode. Not only was he just plain rude, but he tried to ship his poor baby girl off to only God knows where without a trace to be left behind!

Let’s clue Papa Pope into a little crisis management 101; do not run!

Running away from a crisis will only lead to a person or company’s demise. People won’t have the answers they need so they’ll start making up scenarios in their heads, causing rumors to run rampant, which will then tarnish the person or company’s reputation even further. Don’t. Do it!

Moving on, Ms. Sally Langston can go ahead and hop right on the hot mess bus with daddy Pope. She’s a perfect example of someone on your team who won’t cooperate with a plan.

When dealing with someone like that, you have to do just what Fitz did. Talk to them. Get on their level. Find the deeper issue at hand. Now Sally claimed she refused to help because it conflicted with her morals and religion. That would have been fine. Don’t ask people to compromise their morals.

However, Hot Mess No. 2 knew she didn’t want to help because she herself wanted to be President. Just stop it. Once you’ve found the deeper issue, you can tailor your words and actions to get the result you want.

Now let’s get to the juicy stuff. Olivia Pope was sleeping with the President of the United States, y’all. The secret got out, and all of her clients started dropping her like a hot sack of potatoes. What do you do in that situation?

Well you cannot do much once you’ve lost your clients’ trust, just as you can’t do much once you’ve told your parents you were going to Suzie’s house and you went to the Kendrick Lamar concert instead.

The only thing you can do is work to get it back, show them why they hired you in the first place and show them that you care. Olivia nailed that on the spot honey! She called each of her clients one by one, and although they all went through with getting rid of her, they had no choice but to respect her.

How many times do our parents have to tell us that we can’t trust every body? Not even the chief of staff! Who are we talking about? Hint: We can’t live with him, but we can’t live without him. Yep! Cyrus. Our witty, flamboyant gay best friend started a kill folder on Olivia Pope! What? That’s what I call plain ‘ol disrespect. What do you do when someone right under your nose betrays you? Your best friend? You learn from that and remember that you can’t trust anyone but yourself. Always, always stay three steps ahead of EVERYONE.

Now we all have mixed feelings about the love triangle going on between Fitz, Mellie and Liv, but we all have to agree that they make a great team when it comes to making a good plan. Although they didn’t go through with it, that was a hell of a crisis management strategy that only they could’ve come up with. Sometimes you have to put your differences aside to make a great team. Remember that.

Last thing… Don’t ever lie. Don’t twist the truth either. Just remember that everything in a situation isn’t for the world to know. Give the people enough so that they are satisfied and feel included. They want to feel as if they are in the issue themselves and have a say as to what happens. Give them that bit. However, just know that sharing every minor detail that could screw you over way more than necessary isn’t needed.

No matter how bad a crisis seems, remember what Olivia Pope said: You are never out of options.

Check out some of my favorite quotes from this week’s episode:

“The people elected you to be the President’s sidekick, not the Lord!” –Cyrus

“You have to be TWICE as good as them to get half of what they have.” –Papa Pope

“It works. The truth works.” –Olivia Pope

“The reporters are just doing their jobs. It’s never personal.” –Olivia Pope

“Are we gladiators, or are we b*****s?” -Harrison

De’Andra Roberts is a 19-year-old public relations sophomore from Atlanta, Georgia. She hopes to enter the field of crisis management one day. Follow her on Twitter!